《阿凡达》夺回全球票房第一，卡梅隆盛赞中国丨Weekend Movies

Cameron, who is now in New Zealand engaged in the post production work for the Avatar sequels, tells China Daily via an online video interview that he has felt "truly incredible about what has happened in China".

卡梅隆目前正在新西兰担任《阿凡达》续集的后期制作工作，他在接受《中国日报》的线上视频采访时表示，他感觉“在中国发生的一切真是不可思议”。

When Avatar was first released in China in early 2010, the country had just 14 IMAX-capable cinemas, but now the total number has expanded to nearly 1,000, with over 700 in operation and the rest signed to be installed in future.

2010年初，当《阿凡达》首次在中国上映时，中国只有14家具备imax放映系统的电影院，但现在，这样的电影院总数已经扩大到近1000家，其中700余家已投入使用该技术，其余影院则已签约，将在未来安装imax放映系统。

"You guys (Chinese people) are leading the charge. That's fantastic. I love it that you've got the virus under control enough and you've got the economy reemerging as well as cinema reemerging," says Cameron.

“你们（中国人）处于领先地位。这太棒了。我很高兴你们已经充分控制了病毒的传播，经济和电影业都在复苏。”卡梅隆说。

China took decisive action shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak earlier last year, enforcing a six-month-long closure of more than 75,000 screens in around 12,000 cinemas until it became safe again for moviegoers to return.

去年早些时候，新冠疫情爆发后不久，中国采取了果断行动，强制关闭了约1.2万家影院的7.5万多块屏幕，长达6个月，直至一切重新回到安全状态，影迷们才得以回归影院。

Propelled by a bunch of Chinese blockbusters ranging from the patriotic anthology My People, My Homelandto the recent Spring Festival smash hit Hi, Mom, the country has seen an inspiring revival from the impact of the pandemic, becoming the world's largest movie market in terms of yearly box office gross since October last year.

从爱国系列作品《我和我的家乡》到近来春节期间引起轰动的《你好，李焕英》，在一系列国产大片的推动之下，中国已经从疫情影响中迎来了振奋人心的复苏。自去年10月以来，中国已成为全球年度票房收入最高的电影市场。

"The Chinese film industry is growing in strength and ability to tell these Chinese stories at a world-class level," says Cameron.

“中国电影产业的优势和能力正在提升，能够以世界级的水平讲述这些中国故事。”卡梅隆说。

"I'm honored that they (referring to the China Film Administration and Chinese distributors) chose Avatarto be one of the films to sort of remind people what the cinematic experience is," he adds.

“我很荣幸他们（指中国电影局和中国发行商）选择《阿凡达》作为一部唤醒人们观影体验的电影。”他补充道。

Speaking about the legacy that Avatar has brought to global audiences over the past decade, Cameron says he believes Avataris still a "fresh" tale with a thought-evoking theme exploring climate change and mankind's relationship with nature.

在谈到《阿凡达》在过去十年间给全球观众带来的影响时，卡梅隆表示，他相信《阿凡达》仍然是一个“新鲜”的故事，它的主题发人深省，探索了气候变化和人类与自然的关系。

The film is set in the year 2154 and follows a paraplegic US military veteran's mission to the fictionalized inhabitable moon Pandora, a lush alien world, home to the blue-skinned, 3-meter-tall giants known as the "Na'vi" race.

这部电影的时间设定于2154年，讲述一名截瘫的美国老兵前往虚构的宜居星球“潘多拉”执行任务的故事。那是一个郁郁葱葱的外星世界，是蓝皮肤、3米高的巨人们的家园，他们被称作“纳美人”。

While asked the legacy about the film over past decade, Cameron replies: "As a filmmaker, you want to be able to resonate with people everywhere. I know some people criticize the story for being too simple. I think it wasn't that simple. It was universal. It was something that everybody everywhere could understand and emotionally related to."

当被问及这部电影在过去十年间的影响时，卡梅隆回答道:“作为一个电影制作人，你希望能与世界各地的人产生共鸣。我知道有些人批评这个故事太简单了，但我认为它并没有那么简单。它具有普适性，是全世界都能理解、都能为之产生情感共鸣的故事。”

Interestingly, the most anticipated news for Avatar fans is perhaps when the sequels will finally come out.

有趣的是，《阿凡达》的影迷们最期待的消息可能是续集何时上映。

Revealing that the Avatar producers have two facilities respectively located in Los Angeles and New Zealand, Cameron says he is "lucky" to work in the same room with other people right now in New Zealand.

卡梅隆透露，《阿凡达》的制片方在洛杉矶和新西兰分别有两个工作室，他说，他很“幸运”现在能和新西兰的其他工作人员在同一间屋子里工作。

"So in a funny way, nothing really changed for me. We were very fortunate that we had based our production here in New Zealand before the pandemic," says Cameron.

“所以，有趣的是，对我来说什么都没有改变。我们非常幸运，在疫情爆发之前，我们的制片基地就设在新西兰。”卡梅伦说。

But he reveals that he had also seen the project delayed for four months due to the pandemic, so they had to push two of the scheduled four sequels around a full calendar year into 2022.

但他透露，他也看到这个项目因为疫情拖延了4个月，所以他们不得不将原定的4部续集中的2部推迟到2022年。

"But that's probably a good thing in the grand scheme of things because we need to have everybody back in cinemas worldwide," he says.

他说:“但从长远来看，这可能是一件好事，因为我们需要让全世界的人都回到影院。”

Over the past year that the world's cinemas have collectively undergone a tough time to battle industrial slowdown caused by the pandemic, Cameron says he believes the charm of big screen will not fade.

在过去的一年里，为对抗疫情导致的产业衰败，世界各地的电影院共同经历了一段艰难时期。卡梅隆说，他相信大银幕的魅力不会消失。

"I think everyone who is a filmmaker whether they like me or they're kind of an old dinosaur or whether they're a new filmmaker that's coming up. They have to ask themselves: 'what is a movie?' Why should something be a movie and not a six-hour limited series or an episodic series or a special or all of the various ways that things can play through on streaming," he says.

他说:“我认为，每一个电影人——无论他们是像我一样，还是“老古董”，或是即将出现的新生电影人——他们必须问自己:‘什么是电影?’为什么他们要创作的东西应该是一部电影，而不是6小时的限定剧、连续剧、特辑或者所有可以通过流媒体播放的内容呢?”

"I don't know how it's all going to settle out. I do believe the cinema will always be there because there's something the cinema provides that streaming platforms can't. Going to the theater is about being in a room with a bunch of strangers.

“我不知道这一切将如何解决。我相信电影院会一直存在，因为电影院提供了流媒体平台无法提供的东西。去电影院就是和一群陌生人共处一室。”

"The strangers keep you from talking to your friends while you're watching. You don't have a remote, so you can't press pause and go order a pizza or go to the bathroom. It's great when you laugh at a joke with everybody else in the room and you don't know them," the talkative director continues.

“在观影期间，陌生人会阻止你和你的朋友交谈。你没有遥控器，所以你不能按下暂停键，然后去订披萨或上厕所。你不认识房间里的其他人，却因为某个笑话和他们一同开怀大笑，这很棒。”这位健谈的导演继续说道。

After all, just like all the great directors who have ever asked this question amid the double blows from the pandemic and streaming rivals, Cameron believes cinema is irreplaceable.

毕竟，正如所有在疫情和流媒体竞争对手的双重打击下问过这个问题的伟大导演一样，卡梅隆相信电影是不可替代的。

For now, we will have to wait for the box office sales to learn whether Avatar is the hero we need to rescue the future of cinema!

现在，我们得等待票房数据，才能知道《阿凡达》是否能成为我们所需要的、拯救电影业未来的英雄!

记者：徐帆